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Leon Blades teaching Barbadians about Road Safety
Former Assistant Superintendent of the Barbados Police Service Leon Blades is
using the knowledge he has gained as a respected Traffic Officer to encourage
Barbadians to be more mindful of their road safety.
The former student of Princess Margaret Secondary School will be debuting his
debut book A Children’s Highway Code in December 2022.
Blades said the catalyst for writing this book was to teach children from a young
age about road safety.
“I served the people of Barbados for over four decades, the most while attached to
the Traffic Branch dealing with Road Policing, as a motorcyclist and on patrol
cars. In my role as a Traffic Officer, I worked in enforcement, with the compilation
of Traffic statistics including analyzing Collision causation. In addition, I also
delivered Road Safety lectures to schools and examined members of the Girl
Guides for various badges. For the latter, I used information contained in their
manuals to make an assessment.
There was no standard written information to use, therefore, I employed my
experience as an officer and my knowledge of traffic laws to determine what
would be taught to children.
In 1985 for the 150th Anniversary of the Royal Barbados Police Force, I designed
a Schools Road Safety Quiz for Children which was published in another
newspaper. This inspired me to do more, and I again designed and produced a
Bookmark on Dos and Don’ts of Road Safety for distribution to road users. As a
serving officer then and now, I believe that I can make a greater impact on all road
users and thus reduce children’s involvement in collisions through continued
educational thrusts. After the Government published the first edition of the
Barbados Highway Code in 1996, I obtained a copy and after reading it I began
thinking of writing one exclusively for Children. I saw that as an investment in the
future of Barbados’ road users,” he said.
Blades who is a graduate of the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic, Barbados
Institute of Management and Productivity (BIMAP) and the University of The
West Indies Open Campus said that his knowledge and experience as a Traffic
Officer compelled him to not only write A Children’s Highway Code but also co-
author Avoiding Collisions in Barbados with Mark Corbin who resides in the
United Kingdom. He noted that the writing of these books is his way of giving
back to the people of Barbados.
“Publishing these books is my way of giving back to the people of Barbados some
of the knowledge I have gained through written literature to be used as a reference
to all current and future road users. Currently, to the best of my knowledge, there is
no other literature on either subject available in Barbados. I intend to launch both
books on Saturday, December 10th, 2022,” he said.
How does he plan on disseminating his books?
Blades said he intends to donate a free copy of A Children’s Highway Code for
every public and private primary school in Barbados.
“I want through the book A Children’s Highway Code that each School-age child
becomes a more knowledgeable road user now and, in the future, and that their
parents and guardians through the other book Avoiding Collisions in Barbados
have information to buttress that given by Instructors during their initial driver
training. Owners of homes and all road users are not left out from advice contained
therein, as they too have a role to play and can benefit from the advice given,” he
said.
Persons desirous of pre-ordering their copies of A Children’s Highway Code and
or Avoiding Collisions in Barbados can contact Leon Blades via email at